


Aria of a Soul Transcending

by LadyLunarPhoenix



Category: Castlevania
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-09-19
Updated: 2014-07-22
Packaged: 2017-10-23 20:49:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/254833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLunarPhoenix/pseuds/LadyLunarPhoenix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The King is Dead. Long Live the King.</p><p>Don't think with the defeat of two mere cults that the story of Dracula came to an end. Far from it, now Soma or is it Dracula, must accept his mantle as King and deal with those who would challenge his rule. Heaven can not deny him his brith right, nor Hell deny him his throne. How will the King rule in his new life? Time will tell, if there is any left.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Reawakening of the Sleeping King

**Author's Note:**

> This story is originally posted in fanfiction.net under the name: Dawn of Sorrow Dusk of Hope.  
> Just a new place to put an old story.
> 
> This is a post bad ending of Dawn of Sorrow fic with a twist.

The room was rather well lit, the soft hint of incense flittered through the air and there was a soft hum as a computer ran. The room wasn't anything special; it was almost severe in appearance, sturdy oak wood floors, stonewalls and a thick strong ceiling. There was a pair of paintings on the wall to the left, an ornate sword hanging from the wall on the right along with a family crested shield. There wasn't much going on in the room; one would even say that it looked almost typical compared to any other office. If you ignored the man sitting at the desk then perhaps the room would look completely normal. Yet though the man looked normal himself, with his dark brown hair with faint traces of lighter brown, and his dark business suit, it was what sat on his shoulder that would stop a person. Perched on his shoulder like it was nothing at all, was a blonde haired faere. Dressed in a light blue gown she was sleeping soundly as her master worked away on his computer with an inhumane speed.

But for all that speed, the rapid sound of keys being pressed, it didn't drown out the sounds from outside, the dragging of footsteps or the hard uneven breathing. The door clicked open, a steady series of clicks that countered the unsteady heartbeat of the white haired person who stumbled into his office. The hair was a bit longer, brushing fully past his shoulders, blue eyes so shadowed by over grown bangs that they showed a flicker of worrisome gold. What had at one time been a clean white coat with blue trim was now a dirty cloak of rags, with dirt, blood and sweat fit for only beggars to wear. The black turtleneck and blue jeans didn't fare any better then the coat. The person looked so very out of place in the orderly office, he could have been someone just off the streets that had stumbled drunk into the room. He stumbled into the first chair that he could reach, and without a permission or word, slumping into it like it had taken all the strength in him to do it.

Behind the desk the typing had come to an end at the sight of the young man, as he sat there patiently his hands folded on his lap, while across his desk the young man seemed to struggle just to stay awake. For the normal person there was a silence as deep as the ocean between the pair, for the normal person there was a tension that couldn't be explained. For those with the senses that went beyond the normal person though there was a whole new depth to the room. Dueling heartbeats, one that was calm to the one that was double-timed yet it wasn't safe. It had been just over a week since Soma had been brought to Arikado's private residence and even now his heart had not returned to a normal beat. It was as though two hearts rested inside Soma's chest, but it was a single heart doing the work of two.

"Soma," Arikado sat back in his chair, his eyes smoothly going over the young teen, taking note of everything, not a hair betraying his concern. "Soma," he repeated the name when said youth didn't respond, only to watch as Soma yanked his head up and look at the dhampire. As though he suddenly realized that he was being spoken too. "You should still be in bed."

Yet Soma answered with a question of his own, as though he did not hear the Dhampire's advice. "I… I messed up didn't I? I failed everyone, so how am I still alive?"

"That can wait until you have recovered," Arikado replied calmly, his familiars were arousing themselves from their slumber, ready to guide the great master only to be stopped and waved away by a gesture from Soma.

"No, I have to know… What did you do to save me?" Soma insisted as he sat there, breathing more like he ran a race then if he had just been sitting down or sleeping like the dead for over a week.

"In time you will remember, until then it is for the best that you rest and heal yourself." Arikado informed Soma, not a hair betraying a thought in his head, or a feeling in his heart, if he had one.

"How can I rest when I don't know how I'm still here," Soma asked resolutely refusing to leave the room his gaze far too serious for one as young as himself.

Arikado didn't answer in this chamber that time truly seemed to forget existed, but he felt Soma's power rise up like a dragon looming over himself. Soma wished to strike, his first instinct seemed to grab and force Arikado under his control through his own power. Even though in this state Soma didn't know that Arikado was a dhampire, he was aware that Arikado had magics within himself, thus he sought to bring that magic under his control. Force the dhampire to explain what had happened that had allowed Soma to survive the battle. Yet at that last moment before any blow could come between them; Soma himself seemed to realize what he was trying to do and stopped himself.

"I'm sorry."

They spoke at the same time, apologizing for different reasons, but apologizing all the same. For Soma, it was his failure to suppress his dark side, for Arikado it was for not revealing the method of Soma's salvation. Arikado finally stood up from behind his desk; tall, lithe and still imposing he walked around it to Soma's side, offering an arm for Soma to use. For a moment the teen seemed confused by the gesture, but then pushed himself out of the chair and surrendered to Arikado's wish to return to his rest. Leaning against the time displaced black suited aristocrat he walked into an uncertain future.


	2. Walk with me Daughter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kinda an old story. Without a beta you'll see flaws here in there and everywhere regarding grammar and such. Sorry... I have too many works right now to fix. Hopefully with the end of some of them I'll be able to start combing through my messes.

Dawn, it was peering rather sleepily over the walls of the Vatican, warming the cold stone with it’s rays of light. Shining like how truth and justice should pierce through the darkness, or in a certain witch’s eyes, blinding like how a stinking orb would. Or so would Yoko proclaiming depending on the hour of the day and the amount of sleep she had acquired. Which was why the 86-year-old Pope was guiding the much younger Yoko around. Ah Yoko, a brilliant conversationalist if one could get her on the right path, a lousy morning person. In fact if the Pope didn’t guide her, she’d be as a stumbling drunk through the gardens. Jet lag followed by a five am meeting was, she would announce, a curse God put on man. Of course staying up all night making jokes about the Popes speeches to the mass really didn’t justify sympathy for Yoko’s; ahem, suffering. Yet at the same time, Yoko was, when awake, a pleasant person to talk to, as she gave an opinion that was closer to the opinion of the people. Something he needed now as Pope, his council didn’t always wish to tell him the full truth.  
Though it was true that, as the Pope, he was to be above such idle rumors as those given the common man. It was because he couldn’t be swayed by jealous rumors, when his path was to protect and guide his flock. Or rather, he shouldn’t be swayed, but even the Pope was a human, thus why he was kept apart from the rest of the world. But unlike so many previous Popes that had served the Catholic Church; Alexander, as he was known now, was one of the select few in the church who could say they had spoken to the Dhampire. Each man chosen to be the Pope always, always, brought something of his own personal interest into the position. When he was elected to the position of Pope, it meant he had been elected to a position of more then just what the global media saw. It meant playing a very unusual waiting game with a select group of people.  
As Pope, he was viewed as the highest-ranking person in the Catholic Church, if not of the whole Christian faith. While individuals may hold the esteem of the masses, they came and went as all humans do. But the Pope was in a sense near eternal, it wasn’t really about the man, it was about the Faith, the conviction, it was devotion everlasting, a state as near as holy as a person could get without standing before the King of Kings. It would be, therefore, the height of scandal if it were ever leaked that the Holy See, the very highest of the Christian Church had allowed the use of a lesser, more pagan, religion in their attempts to seal away a great evil. The mere thought that a religion based on a supreme Overbeing couldn’t handle a very active potent evil? No, people required a moral compass to follow otherwise chaos and anarchy ruled their lives. People by default if untrained or not raised to a certain standards often found it hard to attain a certain lifestyle, not without mixing it with their original style. Many times, this change was good, new fashions, new technologies, ideas were borne from the mixing pot of different sources. But religion was a different matter, people were raised and conditioned for the training they had been given for that particular service, losing it’s purity, no matter how sincere often meant a loss to the way of life. And when it came to seals, and the Dark Lord, tainting was a result that could not be allowed to happen.  
Time and again those who had faced Dracula had been only able to send him back into the very chaos. Alexander was not even a Cardinal at the time before 1999, he knew nothing of the discussions that the previous Popes were involved in when they agreed to the new style of sealing. Only when he had become a Cardinal did he learn about the Seal. About the waiting game that the Church was now in, waiting to see if the Final Battle had truly been fought, or if Dracula would return again. When Yoko returned from her assignments at least then he knew how fared the fate of the world. After all she was rather fond of the side effect of the sealing. When the seal was put into place, the understanding was that it would banish the evil of Count Dracula from the world; however, the seal apparently took this term quite literally and all that remained of the Count was his human soul. He, as well as the Cardinals, was amazed at the idea that the Lord of Darkness had a human, and therefore, a presumably pure soul. When they discovered the prophecy about the Dark Lord’s return they wondered if the war would ever end.  
“Ok I’m awake and dressed what more do you want from me?” Yoko asked between jaw breaking yawns.  
“Early morning motto?” Alexander asked amused as she blearily looked up at him. “I do believe you have guests here so you really should try and wake up.”  
“Yeah… Say Your Holiness, why did the Cardinals of Internal and External Affairs want to see Arikado and Soma?” Yoko asked as she straightened up a bit.  
“The recent events, now that Soma is strong enough to travel on his own. The Cardinal wished to see the boy for himself the host of the powers of Darkness isn’t something that should be an unknown to us. We wished to meet the youth, to confirm his heart, I hope that they understand how both odd and dangerous the situation is.” Alexander explained calmly with a faint smile, after all it was more then the feelings of a couple of people at stake.  
“Soma…” Yoko looked internally distracted at that, remembering the battle. “He’s trying to hold on, it’s, well, his emotions that are sorta the problem. When grief and all the emotions that follow grief are pushed to the extreme within him, he just loses himself. I wonder what type of person Soma was before he became Dracula originally.” Yoko sounded wistful at that last part, wishing that they had been able to stop the pain that had brought about Dracula originally.  
“A man who felt emotions strongly, and that has not changed apparently.” Alexander replied his eyes focused on a distant door off the side of the garden. Bird song filled the air as the pair talked, lifting the mood of the conversation as they made their way towards the door as part of the stroll through the garden.  
“The family crypt,” Yoko breathed as she walked over to the door and placed her hand upon it. All the members of the Belmont clan who had ever faced Dracula was buried there, not only that but off to the side bore the crypt of all those who aided the Belmonts. Even Yoko’s own esteemed ancestor, Sophia Belandes, was buried there. Sometimes she wondered, if she was living up to her potential, if Sophia; were she to see her current representative of the Clan, be proud. The stories told, always showed Sophia as a strong, decisive woman who knew right from wrong and the sacrifices necessary to follow the right path. But did she ever have a problem like the one that Yoko had? All the Belmonts, all of her own clan, they always had it so simple back then, just go into the castle and destroy Dracula. That wasn’t the case this time physical hardship was one thing, emotional hardship was different. Physical hardship didn’t haunt a person the same way, looking at Soma and wondering if there would come a time when someone would kill him. Did they know? Did her ancestors or the Belmonts know that it took overpowering grief to make Dracula do what he did? Surely Trevor had a clue, he was the one to find Alucard and bring him into the battle against the dark curse of Dracula. She sometimes wondered if Trevor or Sophia ever thought about that, about making a son fight his own Father.  
“Lost in thought dear child?” Alexander asked kindly as he studied her quiet features.  
“Father? What’s the greater sin? Patricide or…” she found herself unable to think of a way to finish the question.  
“You’re thinking of Alucard. His situation is with no easy answer; on the one hand he does a great service to those who cannot fight by taking up his sword against evil. On the other hand it is his own father who he must strike down, no, it’s not an easy answer that one. One would note, that he always addresses his father either as his father or by his title and name. But always respectful, the son who was doing what he had to do, even if it did break his own heart. Dracula must have been a good man before his wife’s death; Alucard would not be so faithful or torn otherwise. Yoko?” Alexander cocked his head to the side as he studied Yoko’s sudden change of expression. She went from thoughtful to suddenly moving so that she was on his other side studying the silent garden.  
“The birds… they stopped singing.”  
Alexander never really ever ‘saw’ Yoko in action, he only saw her on the Vatican grounds in her usually role of serving the church. Oh he heard the rumors that she could do more then just animate stuffed toys, the Stuffy Patrol Christmas Express train came to mind. But he had never actually seen her do anything that made him think she could properly defend herself in a given situation. The shift from sleepy woman to thoughtful caring nun to a now fully alert tensed up witch was a surprise. He didn’t feel threatened, but apparently something had set off Yoko. “Go, if I am not the target then go and see to the matter.”  
She was gone the moment he spoke, freeing her to go and check out what had happened, moving at a speed that left the old man blinking in amazement. So, there actually ‘was’ more to Yoko Belandes then just her bubbly personality. Leaving him to stand alone in the garden of the Vatican with the door to the Belmonts Crypt behind him. Before him laid a splendid garden, tended to by the loving hands of the nuns and priests of the church, a beautiful fountain of Jesus teaching his disciples resting in the center. Apple and Fig trees grew in predetermined locations providing shade for the guest of the garden; in the morning the dew reflected the sunlight like a field of diamonds. The Vatican, the grandest of bastions of the Catholic faith in the entire world, the glorious gilded cage for the head of a faith that was tested daily in every man. “What is worse? Patricide or standing aside and letting the innocent suffer instead of fighting back? Dear daughter, the worst is having to make that call at all.”  
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Yoko ran through the garden, dashing through the doors with enough speed to leave the guards gaping as she dashed off ordering them to watch over the Pope. As she ran past the rich cream colored, white trimmed walls she tossed her senses out to the fullest trying to find the source of the disturbance, much akin to a fisherman casting a line. Well she knew what the source was, Soma clearly, but she couldn’t figure out why he would be acting out like this. The souls were once more gone, leaving Soma a typical teenager, albeit with a dark responsibility. It was the dark aura that he possessed, it was seething, no raging, about something that she couldn’t understand. She took to the stairs twenty at a time, with each bounding leap, leaving the poor choirboys, priests, nuns, and other members of the church to stare at her in wide-eyed amazement. The Vatican was a precursor version of Dracula’s castle in Yoko’s opinion, far too blasted big to be of any use to anyone. Well at least it didn’t have a horde of monsters to fight through, which was a small miracle unto itself, since choirboys technically ‘were’ little monsters when left unattended.  
She hung a left at a statue of the Apostle Paul, nearly slid into the wall when she hit the humble portrait of Mary, nearly tripped over that ‘will they ever get it fixed’ carpet snag at the statue of Mary Magdalene that often sent the poor person running right into her breasts. Though lo she finally did hear a great deal of voices, much akin to the sounds of a gang talking about a fight while the two combatants shrieked their hate at the center of the mass. But amid all the high ranking hats, so useless, and people clearly taller then herself, there was nothing she could see. Polite, if strained, requests to get by where ignored while she recognized Soma’s angry voice, shrieking about being released. Channeling her lightning spell, when applied to the poking, however got the first priest to jump a good three feet into the air. He landed in an undignified heap at her feet causing the priests ahead of him to turn around to see what was the matter, again no one really knew what Yoko was capable of doing in the Church.  
“Move it or start praying your pacemakers can handle it.” She threatened with her index finger still sparking with electricity. That cleared her a path to the door faster then crosses at a vampire convention. She stomped her way to the doorway and looked inside where the chaos was still going strong despite her arrival. “This can not in any way be considered a good thing.”  
The Vatican came with many offices that were designed for mere conversations or meetings. Oak wood desks, and chairs a rich red carpet, with all the cushions also of that same shade of red. With a fireplace capable of being lit during the winter months it made the place feel pleasantly warm during those winter months, but almost cloyingly hot in the summer when mixed with the incense. The room had a strict sense, no curves everything was straight with sharp angles, her witch senses never did like this room. Above the mantel rested a lovely portrait of a field of flowers with a cottage, two lovely young girls were playing amongst the flowers with a mountain range off in the distance. The curtains were pulled shut, which was odd considering it so early in the morning, and that the windows revealed the inner garden, even though all the windows of the church were bullet proof. Rows of books rested on shelves that were built into the walls, with a couch that normally rested near them toppled backwards. The room unto itself looked pretty much normal, save that the chairs were tossed aside, this way and that, and there were papers that littered the floor like the leaves of early fall.  
The priests were struggling to hold Soma back, the teen looked fit to kill, his eyes wide and focused, his otherwise neat clean white coat being used to help hold him back. His black turtleneck, his bellbottom blue jeans and his belts were being grabbed and held on to like life depended on it. Which given the fact that he had Claimh Solais out and dripped with blood, probably meant someone’s life ‘did’ depend on his restraint. Cardinal D’Arsit was now with a pair of priests trying to help staunch a ridiculous amount of blood from somewhere. Further back, closer to the fireplace three nuns was tending to Arikado in a way that brought to mind the image of Christ after the Crucifixion. The only one fully capable of calming Soma down was out cold apparently, and what hope was there for Soma when it would be a Cardinal of the Church set against him?


	3. Let us talk you and I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My advice for new writers.
> 
> Think things through. Writing fanfiction is like riding a bike with training wheels on, you've been given the characters and the worlds you want to use. Think a plot through and decide if you can commit to the time to flesh it out. There is no mandated law that you have to reveal secrets or plots at a drop of a hat. Take your time, know the characters and have faith in yourself. If when you write you can't see the characters doing what you want, take a step back and ask yourself 'is it worth it to lose the integrity of my story just for this scene to happen?'. If you can't make it fit then drop it, no one will think less of you for it. Holding true to the plot, the characters, and the world from beginning to end is the start of a true path towards writing.

The Vatican was a building of quiet tension; by noon one would think the whole place on some form of lock down, as few adults stepped out of their offices or rooms. Young boys stayed close to the walls, whispering the tales of how Yoko jumped the stairs and ran. The children gathered in small groups reciting what they had seen, meeting up with other boys who had heard, as all children do, what had happened between the newcomers and the Cardinal of Internal Affairs. By that time of the day everyone who wasn’t there had heard from the whispers of the children, of their ditzy nun’s escapade on the stairs, and how the pale stranger had cut the hand off the Cardinal. The boys had a clear dislike of the Cardinal so there was no lost love there, but Yoko! Oh Yoko was now the church’s new Iconic hero!

  
Not that she felt that way when there was a knock on her door. She got up from her desk, where she had been sulking, and walked over opening it, finding Pope Alexander standing on the other side. She stepped aside from the door allowing the man to enter her room, while her teddy bear, SnuggyWuggy, pulled out a chair for the Pope. She shut the door and rested against it, her eyes closed to the bright light of the noon sun that filtered into her window. Soaking in the familiarity of her room, with its soft pastel colors and warm wood tones. It took a bit of effort before she finally walked away from the door and sat down across from the Pope, waiting for the questions that were sure to come.

  
“Yoko? What happened in the false Castle?” He finally asked, no point in preamble, or masking the question.

  
The question alone threw Yoko off, she was sure he was going to ask about what happened in the room, yet instead the castle? “Alucard informed us about the castle, and the situation. I arrived with Julius, but he insisted on going in alone just as Soma arrived. Soma knew he was being threatened; I had him guide me to a location where I could wait things out. After that I saw him from time to time, he would seek me out to upgrade his weapons, or occasionally he came for the companionship. Alucard and Julius were going through the castle on their own, it wasn’t like they were together and I think Soma wanted someone to talk to that wasn’t going to hurt him. From time to time Alucard would visit me, after he discovered Soma roaming around the castle, and to say he wasn’t pleased with Soma putting himself in danger, is putting it mildly. He didn’t say much, but it was the way he bit out each word when describing situations he knew Soma would have problems overcoming. The castle on its’ own wasn’t huge, but when coupled with fighting monsters, it wasn’t any wonder to me when Soma would show up exhausted. I’d let him curl up in my shop, there were some old pillows that I let him use as a bed, he’d use his coat or a cape as a blanket and would take a nap. But then after awhile, he stopped coming, and the hours stretched until…”  
Alexander had known Yoko all her life, was used to her animated personality, she didn’t hide her pleasure or displeasure very well. She could be a bright sunny day of high spirits, or a stormy day with lightning flashing in her eyes normally. But right now, sitting across from her, with her enchanted teddy in her arms she looked more like a gloomy autumn day rather then a spring morning or summer storm. “Until?” He gently urged.

  
“Julius came back to my shop, but all he said was ‘I have to fulfill my promise, we lost Soma.’ I left the shop with him, traveling through out the castle until we came across Alucard. By then he had dropped the final seal, there was no point to it anymore with Soma gone. From there we traveled through out the castle dispatching monsters and looking for Dracula. We didn’t talk much, Alucard was going to face his charge, Julius to keep a promise while I was trying to figure out how I was going to explain to Mina that Soma was gone. Not to say that Alucard didn’t explain what had happened, we understood that a doppelganger had been used to trick Soma. We reached him, had to go into this weird, not earth type place filled with evil intent, only to get warped back into the throne room where Dracula was. Sometimes I wonder if it was because Soma existed at all that Dracula yielded to us, or because Soma, who is the manifestation of his human soul, may have still been inside somewhere. But he held back and when the battle was over, it was just Soma in control again, a grieving distraught Soma. And Dimitri who had been hiding within Soma all that time, and probably helped influence Soma’s emotional state. He was just a roaming spirit, but he now had enough power to find a new host body. We had to deal with him, so we left Soma with strict instructions to stay in the throne room and if the castle started to fall he just had to turn into a bat and fly out of there, since the throne room was at the top of the castle.”

  
Yoko had a lost look in her eyes as she recalled the events in the castle, her sadness that this even had to happen clear in her very being. Alexander never really knew that much about Soma himself. When the seal was put into place originally the church had kept tabs on each child born on the day, at the moment of the fall of Count Dracula. The church followed up on every child, going over each profile that was created as the child grew up, thus they saw many minor threats. But at the time the biggest threat came from Graham Jones. Alexander knew his profile chapter and verse, so to speak; the man who would become the leader of a cult that sought to take over the world. Soma had been a complete unknown to them, Alexander had come to realize that Alucard had been aware of the youth. Not only aware but had actively shielded Soma from their view.

  
Though the act had knocked the Cardinals on their side in shock when this revelation had been revealed, it had touched Alexander. A son desperately clinging to a single hope that his father could be redeemed. That a son who had been at odds with his father for over four centuries could still love the man enough that he would risk his own life to save his father. “How terrible for Alucard.” He spoke aloud, breaking Yoko’s train of thought, and continued when she focused back on the present and him. “He puts the world before himself, over and over again, and the world shows nothing for it. He sealed his father away, only to unexpectedly have his father reborn. Striving to send the other Dark Children into an equal slumber, instead the children stay awake and restless for his father’s power and presence. Now, his father has returned again, a good soul but a soul that knows not of him. A wall between father and son that should never have to exist in the first place exists now. How he must ache for his father, that he would allow himself to be put into such danger, and more so now that it’s become clear that there ‘has’ to be a Dark Lord. Surely Alucard wishes more for his father then to be a slave to an eternal battle, and yet… here we are…”

  
“Father and Son,” Yoko repeated her eyes going towards a spot on the wall and beyond to a room full of corpses. “Alucard told me after the Castle left that he watched Soma fight Graham. He watched as Soma defeated Graham and the castle invested it’s powers into him. He said ‘He collapsed on the ground in shock, but when he gathered once more his wits he stood tall and acknowledged without doubt or question that he was Count Dracula.’ I don’t know if Alucard was sure or not about if Soma was his father or not, Soma lacks some qualities that resembles Vlad the Impaler after all. Julius had exhausted his powers to open a channel for us to reach Dimitri, when we reached the room of corpses though… The smell would knock a person down alone, fire and brimstone and rotting flesh abound. As gag inducing as it was for me I wondered if it bothered Alucard or did he smell something akin to home. That was when we learned that Soma is indeed the rebirth of Count Dracula…” Yoko broke off to get a cup of water, offering and bringing a cup to the Pope before she sat back down a weak grin and she chilled their glasses making the water even more pleasant to drink. “He said that he knew who Alucard really was, and how he was surprised how Dracula was an alias, that the person who had been calling himself Count Dracula was nothing more then a Baron. He said that now that Soma was undoubtedly dead, it was time for someone to succeed where Soma could not.”

  
“Count Dracula? You mean to say that Soma is not the reincarnation of Vlad Tepes?” Alexander asked in surprise to which Yoko nodded.

  
“We never did find out who Soma is the reincarnation of, because Dimitri attacked Alucard at that moment. Throwing Alucard against the wall with a type of spell that Alucard wasn’t prepared to defend again. It was much akin to the ones we use here, only more violent, as it knocked Alucard completely out cold. I rushed to his side, not sure how I could help him and deal with someone like Dimitri, only Soma appeared between him and us. Soma physically looked fine, if by looks alone he looked like he hadn’t fought and lost a terrible battle. But at that moment Dimitri lost control of all the souls he had gathered, his form was completely distorted and he turned into a massive monster. When I caught sight of Soma’s eyes though I realized the danger. He was exhausted, though absorbing and using the souls of monsters is easy for him to do. It is still something that requires mental strength and focus, something he was in terribly short supply. Alucard came around during the battle, and when he caught sight of Soma fighting he literally shook with suppressed rage. He probably believed that I could hold Dimitri off long enough so that he could come to and join the battle. But seeing Soma fighting, time after time when it was clear Soma was in over his head just infuriated the man. In the end, Soma won, but was so battered and beaten by then that he fell from the highest platform he had gotten to during the battle. Alucard rushed to him, caught and held him while we escaped the falling Castle.”

  
“And Alucard took Soma home with him to take care of the young man,” Alexander finished for Yoko gently as she smiled slightly.

  
“Yeah, he carried Soma to his car, he was so gentle I don’t think he even realized how much he fussed over Soma when he left. I don’t think he realizes when he shows his concern for Soma, how clear it is concern.”

  
“Cardinal Rocco, spoke with Soma before this began. It seems the Cardinal of External Affairs had better luck in his dealings with Soma then the Cardinal of Internal Affairs with Alucard or Soma. It went rather well in fact, Soma by all accounts, though marginally distracted at times, was rather calm. He said that Soma showed signs of someone who was growing used to the burden he was carrying. Which is a good thing, of course, until suddenly, we can only assume he somehow realized that Alucard was being hurt. He responded by leaving the room and rushing about until he found Alucard, in which case the argument resorted to bloodshed.” Alexander explained recalling what Lodovico told him of the meeting. “Soma may not realize that Alucard is his half blood son, but he is already showing all the ear marks of a protective parent.”

  
“Will I be able to see Soma?” Yoko asked quietly, knowing that Alucard was in safe hands as he recovered from the earlier events. But there was no telling what would befall Soma during that time. The Vatican had developed policies about dark being attacks after the first few situations after Dracula’s castle had been sealed away. There was a chance that Soma would not survive the day if the Church decided he was still a threat and to be dealt with haste.

  
“No, dear Daughter I believe I should see him first,” Alexander replied only to smile at her startled expression. “Oh you think I should not? Perhaps so, but I would like to use this chance to meet the young Lord of Darkness.”  
“The Cardinals will have our heads,” Yoko lamented as she sat there staring at the Pope like he lost his ever loving mind. He only chuckled at her response before getting up to leave, letting her open the door for him as he made his way into the hallway of the Vatican.

  
The right thing to do was to see the Cardinals first, Yoko wasn’t joking about the ferocity of the Cardinals over an incident like this. They would go back and forth arguing over the issue at hand, something that Alexander didn’t have time to listen to. Not yet anyway, if he wanted the full story he had to hear it from several sides, but several sides that were directly at the source of the issue. Realistically, besides himself only two of the Cardinals had any interaction with Soma, and both had two totally different stances about him. Just between the Internal and External Affairs the problem would be Soma and his attack, once they threw in the rest of the Cardinals and their demand to know why such extreme measures were used on Alucard? Alexander didn’t think he’d see his bed anytime soon, with the meetings he was about to be dragged into. Only now he had a better grasp on what had transpired in the False Castle when Yoko left to deal with Celia.

  
He walked down the hallways with a pair of priests abandoning their duties to accompany him, even if they didn’t know where he was headed. The even sound of footsteps and rustle of cloth softly alerted those ahead of the coming procession. Allowing the few in the hallway to know and move aside for the Pope, as they progressed to lower parts of the Vatican. From a side door a lone nun slipped out of a room, bowing to the trio as she left to finish her rounds after having tended to the Dhampire. Alucard would be in that room then, slumbering in a bed while oils and incense were burned to counter the effects of the Holy oils. Those oils only worked on the Vatican grounds, created by Yoko’s mother to help defend those inside from attacks from Dark Beings. But it was always understood that the oils were used to defend, not to torture someone, especially not Alucard! The oils worked like Holy Water, burning the Dark One, but like oils it was soaked into the skin leaving a lasting burning pain. The idea that it was used on Alucard would raise many of the Cardinals’ ire, as Alucard was their one stable guardian against the Dark Ones. With Vampire Killer taking the life of anyone who over used it in the Morris Clan, the Belmont Clan having been proven not above brain washing by the Dark Side, and the Belendes being woefully weak in physical conflict.

  
Finally he found himself standing before the door to the cell where Soma was being kept, the priests by his side touched his arms and tried to get him to move back out of concern. As did the guards that stood before it, but he merely smiled and gave soft words of reassurance. Though clearly not pleased with this, the guard opened the door allowing Alexander to step inside the room. It was ten feet all around with cell bars in the center of it, a lone light embedded into the ceiling with a lone teen bound to a chair, his hands bound behind his back, and a rough canvas bag over his head blinding him. While in the four corners of the cell rested the burning oils that subdued Dark Beings.


	4. The Rules of Conversations between Rulers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow its been a while since I updated... So let me scar you folks with some updates!  
> My writing is still crappy and I still lack a beta (lilith graced me with her time this time), but with that said I don't know how long it will take before you get to the chapter that says it out right. Since I'm such a slacker, so I'll explain this here. This follows the bad ending of the game, but instead of Soma dying well here he is. This isn't very long after the battle either, the first chapter was less then a month before this chapter took place. So Soma is still in a state of 'la la'.

“Soma?” Alexander finally spoke watching as the teen lifted his head up a bit as though surprised at being spoken to. “I would like to speak with you if that is acceptable.”  
There was a muffled sound from Soma as though something was holding back his ability to speak while the teen shook his head side to side.  
“He has been gagged by order of the Cardinal D’Arsit,” the priest at his side answered before a gesture by the Pope had the man quietly remove the cover and then the gag from the teen. “Your Holiness? Is it wise?” The priest asked only to receive a reassuring shake of the head and sighed. He left the Pope with the young Dark Lord praying that this meeting went well.  
“I’m in trouble aren’t I?”  
It was the first thing Soma said the moment the door shut leaving him with the Pope of the Holy Church. Alexander had not personally met Soma until this moment, and it was something to note this first meeting. No grand fanfare between them, no legions of darkness nor armies of holy knights, just a single moderately well lit room, one table two chairs with the pair of them sitting across from each other. Nothing for the tabloids to print about or the media to flock over in excitement, it made Alexander wonder what type of fabrications either publications would create just to get some ratings. This meeting was almost so anticlimactic that the only reason either group would appear would be from the attack from earlier. Such a pity though, Alexander would have preferred to have this meeting while walking through the garden above. It was so much more informal and getting to know a person came more easily then when they were tied to a chair with the understanding that they were, in fact, in trouble.  
Alexander sat there wondering how it must have felt for Alucard when he found Soma and learned about who the child was. From all accounts until Soma absorbed a soul he didn’t radiate any real type of power that could be noticed beyond the fact that it was there. Yoko had explained with Dario as an example that each person’s power created a type of aura around him or her. Dario with his power over fire, in the eyes of someone who could sense and wield power themselves, created an aura like seeing things through the heat of flames. Seeing his power meant feeling something akin to seeing fire radiate off of him, while Dimitri radiated a faded copy sense of whatever power he recently mimicked. What drove Alucard to Spain to look for Soma? Though by sight there was obviously something different about the teen, with his pale white hair, his pale skin. Perhaps blood was the most powerful force in the world, perhaps the blood of his father called to him bringing him to his father’s side. But the story of Alucard’s discovery of Soma was a story only Alucard could tell.  
“Yes, violence is not tolerated within these sanctified walls, however Cardinal D’Arsit’s act against Arikado is also unacceptable.” Alexander explained calmly watching Soma struggle with something internally. Soma seemed to have a problem when it dealt with strong emotions, Yoko once theorizing that it was these strong feelings that lead Dracula down his path. Something must have happened as a catalyst for the transformation, something that not even Alucard knew for it had never been spoken in his presence while he still lived with his father. “How and why did you attack Cardinal D’Arist?” He needed to know what caused Soma to be willing to draw blood, to understand why Soma apparently possessed such a strong awareness of Alucard at this point.  
“He hurt Arikado-san!” Soma exclaimed as though it should be common knowledge. “Why would a man of the church hurt Arikado-san?”  
“Because Arikado protected you,” Alexander explained calmly watching the expression of dismay enter Soma’s eyes. ‘Good boy, you don’t like others being hurt because of you.’  
“I don’t understand…” Soma replied subdued by the answer.  
“In 1999 my predecessor agreed to the method used to seal away your dark nature. After that we kept up to date, detailed records on all the children born the day that you died. However when you were reincarnated, instead of letting us know about you so we could refocus our attention, Arikado opted to hide you from us. In hindsight, it may have been the wisest move, for it allowed you to grow up without having to be overly exposed to the church. You grew up with your own mind and thoughts. The realization of the truth was not as crippling as it would have been if we had tried to mold you into something you were not. Only to have the castle reveal your true birth status, perhaps in that it was where we failed Graham. Still, how did you know that it was Arikado who was in danger?” Alexander asked watching Soma intently.  
“I… I don’t know… It was like when I thought Mina-chan had been killed in the fake Castle. I felt like someone was trying to take something infinitely precious away from me. I took off looking for the reason for that feeling and found Arikado-san on the ground and panicked. I… I don’t understand why he would be punished.” Soma explained sounding sullen starting to withdraw into himself. Which fit his normal profile, Soma was not an overtly happy person and it had been years before he found anyone that he could connect with. Though the group was working with him to draw him out of himself it wasn’t something that just happened over night.  
Alexander sat there quietly, taking in what Soma had just said, and while his face held the same kind but firm expression he held during the Holy Mass… He felt rather relieved, even if Soma didn’t know it. He felt deep down inside that Alucard was important to him; perhaps there was still some paternal affection from the Vampire King that had been able to reach and touch his human soul. If they could keep Soma from following the path of evil, perhaps there would come a day when, even if Soma didn’t realize it, Father and Son could finally sit and talk.  
“So this girl… Mina is it? She ‘is’ your girlfriend,” Alexander noted, looking to distract Soma a bit more from what Yoko had admitted and wanting to see how Soma would react to teasing rather then fact.  
“… She’s ‘not’ my girlfriend! Just because she’s a girl and a friend does ‘not’ automatically make her my girlfriend!” Soma blurted out in the most put upon tone of voice yet. He was blushing, and frustrated which was rather endearing since it made it harder to accept this young man was the Lord of Darkness.  
“Ahh then just the first girl you have made for a friend?” Alexander suggested watching as Soma’s put upon anger deflate.  
“Actually I… I have trouble making friends; she’s the first friend I made…” Soma admitted growing sullen again at the admission.  
“Not everyone instantly makes friends with those around them, there are friends for every person sometimes though, you just have to look for them.” Alexander replied sympathetic towards the boy’s loneliness.  
“I still don’t understand why Arikado-san had to be punished the way he was.” Soma finally whispered his eyes focused on a spot on the table.  
“When it was discovered that Arikado protected you and hid your birth from us, several Cardinals were not pleased with this. They felt he had betrayed us to you, that after all this time he was going to serve you.” Alexander explained watching Soma’s mildly confused expression.  
“But why serve me? Just because he has dark powers doesn’t mean he has to be evil, Yoko said so.”  
“No, you’re right. He doesn’t have to be evil,” Alexander nodded, reassured by Soma’s reply. The Spaniard didn’t know about Alucard, didn’t understand the ties of blood that would compromise Alucard’s heart. Nor that some of the Cardinals could see Alucard’s own protection of Soma as a bid to raise his status from being the Prince of Darkness to the King. “You endow him with that ability to choose, if you so wished it he would have no choice, but to return to your side. When you grant free choice among the Children of the Night, they make the choice, when you deny them, they must obey you.” Alexander explained simply, which was the truth or as close as a mortal could come to the grand scheme of truths.  
“Arikado’s a child of the night? People just born with dark powers are considered that?” Soma asked mildly surprised.  
“Yes,” Alexander nodded as the weight in the room wasn’t as bad as some would think. Though Alexander still wished this conversation were taking place in the gardens, talking to the Pope was less intimidating for people when they didn’t have to face him in any formal setting. Sometimes formality and intimidation worked, but this was one of those times when scaring the youth was not the goal. Well not ‘his’ goal anyways.  
“Is Arikado-san going to be ok? What that guy did isn’t going to be permanent is it?” Soma finally asked in concern as he sat there blinking as the scent of the oils continued to play with his senses. It was an irritating sensation that ghosted him in a way that hinted of burning, like a feather lightly tickling the nose, it wasn’t enough to make him sneeze but it was annoying all the same.  
“He will be fine, he is very resilient, you’ll be able to see him later once he’s woken up.” Alexander informed Soma and watched as Soma brightened momentarily.  
“He’ll be mad when he finds out that there’s a Cardinal here missing his hand,” Soma foretold in a tone that just oozed the word ‘again’.  
“It bothers you that you may not live up to Arikado’s expectations?” Alexander noted, having now decided he had a firm enough grasp on who Soma was to go into the meeting with the other Cardinals.  
“He has dark powers like I do, but he isn’t evil, I want to believe that I don’t have to become evil just because I have dark powers, so…” With that Soma shrugged the rest of his answer.  
Alexander nodded as he stood up, “It’s been a pleasure speaking with you, Soma.”  
“It’s been an honor your Holiness,” Soma replied bowing against the bonds that held him.  
Alexander stood up nodding once to Soma before he turned and walked to the door. He felt steadier in his appointed task, that the path they took was the right one. So that when he entered the meeting with the Cardinals over the day’s events he could walk with the surety of a man who knew God’s will without question. He walked to the door and knocked on it once, letting the thick oak wood door with holy images open before him. Allowing him to pass through and out into the hallway to listen to the hundred and one reasons why he should or should not have Soma Cruz put to death as the Restored Lord of the Darkness. Behind him the door clicked shut with a finality.


End file.
